When a student at Benjamin Cardozo High School was found with a loaded gun in his backpack on September 18, 2025, the news traveled through Queens almost instantly. By lunchtime, Francis Lewis High School students just a few minutes away were already trading rumors across hallways and group chats. Some had heard conflicting accounts of where the gun was found, while others weren’t sure whether anyone had been hurt. What most students understood, however, was that the incident didn’t feel distant. It felt like something that could have happened at their own school.

“We’re scared,” sophomore Amadeus Kwee said. “Our students are scared. We want that sense of security. Guns are scary, and I do not want to get shot up.”

Part of that fear came from how close the two schools are. Many Francis Lewis students pass Cardozo every day on the bus, making the discovery feel even more alarming.

“What if that person decided to shoot up the school at third period?” sophomore Coco Chow said. “Then what? Then we all die. This means that there are people who actively want to shoot schools in our area. That’s bad. Cardozo is like 15 minutes away.”

The incident also revived concerns about the school’s phone restrictions, which require students to lock their devices in pouches during the school day. Several students said they worry that if an emergency were to happen, they would not be able to contact their parents or call for help.

“What if I get shot and then I try to tell my parents my final goodbyes and they don’t even hear it?” Chow said. “They have to hear it from Principal Dr. Marmor. I can’t even give a personal goodbye.”

That fear of not being able to act, call, or warn someone surfaced repeatedly in student interviews. Kwee said it’s the sense of helplessness, not just the violence itself, that makes students anxious.

“It kind of gives them an opening,” Kwee said. “It shows that students can’t really protect themselves through calling their parents or local authorities because your phone is locked away.”

Administrators acknowledge that these fears are real, even as safety procedures are designed to minimize risk. Dr. Marmor explained that in any emergency involving a weapon, school safety agents and administrators immediately locate and secure the student and their belongings while contacting police. If a student’s location is unknown, the school initiates a lockdown until everyone is accounted for.

Even with these measures in place, students said there are parts of their experience that adults don’t always see. Some younger students, in particular, said incidents like the one at Cardozo feel more overwhelming.

“They’re more grown up,” sophomore Gordon Ngai said, referring to adults. “They’re more acclimated to this stuff. But for us, we haven’t really been through this yet, so it could be more scary in a way.”

To better understand how students process these fears, guidance counselor Ms. Barahona described how concerns about safety often show up emotionally rather than academically.

“Sometimes we can prevent bad things from happening,” Ms. Barahona said. “But sometimes things are just going to happen, and we can’t always live our lives ruled by fear.”

She explained that the counseling department makes itself available to students following frightening news or incidents, often clearing schedules so students have space to talk. Counselors also visit classrooms and work with teachers when needed.

“There hasn’t been a single incident of gun violence in a New York City school in over 30 years,” Dr. Marmor said, adding that while procedures have been effective, emotional reactions to national and local news are still understandable.

According to Sandy Hook Promise, more than 390,000 American students have been exposed to gun violence at school since the 1999 Columbine shooting. Research from Everytown shows that even indirect exposure, such as hearing about nearby incidents, can affect students’ sense of safety. While such events remain rare in New York City schools, the emotional impact lingers for students who imagine what could happen in their own hallways.

“We always make ourselves readily available,” Ms. Barahona said. “We’ll clear our calendars, cancel meetings, and make sure we’re here if students need to come in.”

For many students, that steady support is what helps turn fear into reassurance, and statistics back into a sense of safety.